Watch the First Teaser for the Long-Awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake

The recent teaser looks good, but I can’t deny that nostalgia plays a pretty major role in my response.

Released in 1997 for the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy VII is widely considered one of the greatest video games of all time, due to its (at the time) cutting edge graphics, stirring soundtrack, fantastical world-building, and involved storyline. Its success spawned a virtual cottage industry of related video games, movies, and even theme parks.

With the advent of newer PlayStations, though, fans have long been clamoring for a remake of Final Fantasy VII utilizing modern technology. Square Enix only stoked the fires of fan interest when they released a demo reel back in 2005 for the PlayStation 3. Ten years after that, a modern remake was officially announced for the PlayStation 4.

Which brings us to this week, when Square Enix released an official teaser for the Final Fantasy VII remake, with the promise of more details in June. The teaser is pretty much what you’d want from any version of Final Fantasy VII. You’ve got Cloud Strife and Barret Wallace battling Shinra soldiers in the bowels of Midgar, Aerith looking very beatific, and of course, Sephiroth.

Because of the remake’s scale, Square Enix will be releasing the game in sections, while also making adjustments to the game’s storyline and character designs to work better in a modern context. (Barret’s voice could use some work, though.) Several key figures involved in the original Final Fantasy VII have returned for the remake, including designer Tetsuya Nomura, director Yoshinori Kitase, and composer Nobuo Uematsu.

This all sounds really promising, and I can’t deny that the game’s visuals look good. I also can’t deny that nostalgia plays a pretty major role in my response to the above teaser. I’m one of those who walked around in a daze after Sephiroth killed Aerith and I spent more time than I’d like to admit scouring internet forums to find a way to resurrect her. Final Fantasy VII was the first video game that I really got into, emotionally speaking, and it still holds a pretty special place in my heart. I’d like to think that its remake can achieve something similar.